Fire, and more often the smoke generated by the fire, cause loss of life in buildings each year.
Fire and smoke detection alarm devices have been created in order to provide early warning to alert building occupants to the presence of the fire and/or smoke, so that they may take appropriate action to protect themselves from the dangers of the fire and smoke, and take whatever fire suppression actions as may be appropriate.
In recognition of the life safety benefits of a fire and smoke detection system, the owners and/or operators of many private and public facilities and institutions such as hotels, motels, inns, public housing, schools, colleges, jails, prisons, youth authority confinement facilities, hospitals, mental health institutions, etc. install smoke detectors, either voluntarily or pursuant to governing regulations or requirements, either as stand-alone detectors, or as part of an electronically integrated fire alarm system.
Additionally, both owners and operators of such facilities and institutions, as well as fire regulation enforcement authorities, recognize that the life safety benefits from such smoke detectors and fire alarm systems can not be realized if the smoke detectors and/or fire alarm systems are not operating as designed. Therefore good practices of maintenance of such smoke detectors and fire alarm systems are instituted, often in response to codified regulations.
Part of a good practice or codified system of smoke detector and fire alarm maintenance often requires protection of the smoke detectors from damage that may impair their performance, be they stand-alone smoke detectors or part of an integrated fire alarm system. Most smoke detectors have covers made of plastic or other man-made materials that can be easily damaged or broken, compromising the functioning of the smoke detection elements inside the smoke detector. Necessity requires that these smoke detectors be protected in situations where prudence would indicate that they may be subject to damage and/or abuse.
The answer to the smoke detector protection issue is often a smoke detector guard or housing that covers and secures the smoke detector, but also allows for the movement of air through the guard and the smoke detector to allow the smoke detector to function properly. The owners and operators of these facilities, as well as code enforcement authorities, sometimes desire to have smoke detector guards or housings that are so designed and constructed such that the access to the smoke detector through the smoke detector guard openings is limited, and/or the ability for someone to injure themselves by using the smoke detector guard is lessened.
There are a variety of smoke detector guards manufactured to meet these needs. However, many fire regulation enforcement authorities require that smoke detector guards be listed for use as an assembly by Underwriter Laboratories, Inc. or similar approved testing entity for use with the particular smoke detector that it guards. Most, if not all, smoke detector guards specifically designed and constructed to prevent access to the smoke detector inside and to reduce the probability of successful suicide attempts using the smoke detector guard, also restrict the flow of air to the smoke detector inside them, and thereby reduce the performance of the smoke detector such that the smoke detector/smoke detector guard assembly does not pass Underwriter Laboratories, Inc. tests for smoke detector performance. Hence, there is a market absence of smoke detector guards that are both Underwriter Laboratories, Inc. listed for use with smoke detectors, and that also meet the anti-suicide prevention requirements of many jurisdictions.